Posts Tagged ‘Dikembe Mutombo’

June 18, 2015 · 10:23AM

ALL BALL NERVE CENTER — We’ve all been there — you sit down at a restaurant to enjoy a nice meal, and the next thing you know, your food is rocking back and forth. Wobbly tables are widespread throughout the restaurant world, and Jimmy Kimmel managed to find a few NBA stars willing to speak out against this scourge. Here’s Jeremy Lin, Nick Young and Dikembe Mutombo speaking out against this important issue…

February 18, 2015 · 9:51AM

ALL BALL NERVE CENTER — Since retiring from the NBA, Dikembe Mutombo has been something of a global ambassador for the NBA, traveling the world and raising money for charities. He’s also become a great seat-mate at NBA games, such as a few weeks ago in Brooklyn when Mutombo sat next to Prince William. At the All-Star Game on Sunday, Mutombo sat next to former President Bill Clinton, and at one point Mutombo stood to cheer and delivered yet another block…

February 18, 2015 · 9:04AM

ALL BALL NERVE CENTER — Everywhere you look at an All-Star Game, there are celebrities. For instance, I still remember last year when I got stuck behind Dikembe Mutombo in line at the concession stand. So it’s not much of a surprise that some of the Warriors’ social media team ran into Dave Chappelle. And right there on the streets of New York, Chappelle showed his allegiances…

September 18, 2014 · 10:14AM

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Welcome to Throwback Thursday here on the All Ball Blog. Each week, we’ll delve into the NBA’s photo archives and uncover a topic and some great images from way back when. Hit us up here if you have suggestions for a future TBT on All Ball.

Today’s Topic: All-Time Blocks Leaders

We continue our Throwback Thursday All-Time Statistical Leaders series today by looking at the Top 10 all-time blocks leaders.

(NOTE:Click the “caption” icon below the photo for details about each moment.)

September 3, 2014 · 9:32AM

ALL BALL NERVE CENTER — The list of NBA players who played their college ball at Georgetown University is long and impressive: Ewing, Mourning, Mutombo, Iverson, Hibbert. And that’s just for a start. The common thread for most of those guys, besides the University itself, is longtime coach John Thompson Jr., who coached many of them (or did his son, John Thompson III).

In the spring, Georgetown announced that it would break ground on a state-of-the-art athletics facility named for Coach Thompson. Since the announcement, several former Hoya basketball players have announced they would be donating money to help make the facility a reality. Last week, Jeff Green kicked in a million dollars, and Patrick Ewing and his longtime agent David Falk joined together to give over $3 million. And then yesterday, it was announced that Pacers center Roy Hibbert would be kicking in a million dollars as well. As Hibbert told the Washington Post, “It’s important for me to give back as much as possible. I actually gave [Thompson Jr.] a call, and then we talked for a little bit today, wished him happy birthday. He was a big part of my development at school. He always said what was on his mind. He was out pushing me to be a better player. Obviously he’s a legend.”

Nice to see these guys willing to give back in such a substantial way.

August 6, 2014 · 2:46PM

ALL BALL NERVE CENTER — Thanks to the Toronto Raptors, here’s a video of Amir Johnson and Dikembe Mutombo dancing while visiting the SOS Children’s Village in Johannesburg as part of the NBA’s Basketball Without Borders initiative. I think Mutombo wins this dance-off…

March 18, 2014 · 10:18AM

By Lang Whitaker, NBA.com

ALL BALL NERVE CENTER — Last night’s Clippers/Nuggets game was notable in that not only did Denver snap L.A.’s 11-game win streak, but it was also a throwback night in Denver. Both teams played in cool retro uniforms, as the Nuggets recognized the 20th anniversary of their 1994 team that upset the Seattle SuperSonics.

With several former Nuggets on hand, including Reggie Williams and LaPhonso Ellis, it only made sense for Denver mascot Rocky the Mountain Lion to bring out Dikembe Mutombo to help with a dunk attempt. What happened next was pure Mutombo…

March 10, 2014 · 10:23AM

ALL BALL NERVE CENTER — I grew up in Atlanta during the ’90s, a time that coincided with the run of Dikembe Mutombo as an Atlanta Hawk. Mutombo never really developed a dominant offensive post game, he was terrific on defense. He got dunked on from time to time, yes, but that was because he tried to block any shot that came near the rim. And when he did get his hands on a shot attempt, Mutombo generally turned that shot around pretty quickly. And then came the crowning glory: The Finger Wag.

It was such a prevalent maneuver that my friends and I started using it in traffic to express our displeasure with other drivers. It was cheeky, but ultimately non-threatening. Also, it was awesome.

Even though Mutombo retired a few seasons ago, the finger wag remains relevant. Just yesterday, for instance we got two displays of the Mutombo finger wag. First Amar’e Stoudemiredelivered one after blocking Cleveland’s Tristan Thompson…

And then we saw one from the stands, as Joakim Noah‘s dad, Yannick, dropped one following a block from Joakim that caused a Miami 24-second violation…

February 19, 2014 · 1:33PM

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ALL BALL NERVE CENTER — There are blocked shots, and then there are BLOCKED SHOTS. This from Greg Monroe last night against Cody Zeller is definitely a BLOCKED SHOT. I think Zeller should have let go of the ball a bit sooner. Looks 2014 just isn’t Zeller’s year so far.

January 6, 2014 · 12:27PM

ALL BALL NERVE CENTER — Dwight Howard has always been dynamic, and this is something that has worked both in his favor — his fans love that he has a varied personality — and against him — his detractors argue that he isn’t serious enough. Through the years Dwight has demonstrated that personality in part by being willing to show off his various impersonations, and he added a new one to the repetoire recently. Let’s get in the internet wayback machine and check some of these out…